The 3 Ring Binder

This is going to be one of those posts... Warning: I may lose some readers (hahaha - Gail, I am sure that you will not unfollow me for this one). Also, I enjoy writing hahaha vs LOL. I'm just set in my ways, I guess.

I have this thing that I have to get off my chest, so here it goes: THE BIBLE (WORD OF GOD) IS NOT A BOOK THAT YOU CAN PRINT ON YOUR HOME PRINTER, USE YOUR THREE-HOLE PUNCHER AND PUT IT INTO A 3 RING BINDER, TO LATER REMOVE THOSE PAGES WHICH YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH.

There! (sigh) I feel sooo much better now. People, Christians, pleasssse be aware that the Bible, the WORD OF GOD is not customizable. It is what it is. Either you take it or you leave it.

If you go to church and they preach against something that is wrong by the standards of the WORD OF GOD, that is good. That means that you are getting the truth. If you go to church and they don't preach against the things that are WRONG according to the WORD OF GOD, then that is bad, because they are lying to you. So what do you want to hear?

Jesus said "I am the way, the Truth and the light and no man comes to the Father, but through me." That is a simple truth. If you believe that truth, then you must believe all of the other truths that are found in the WORD OF GOD. This is not selective reading or selective listening. Coming to Christ is about repentence. If you accept Jesus and you repent (what ever the sin, just walk away) then you are set. Start studying the WORD OF GOD and applying its truth in your life. It is the perfect WORD OF GOD... no editing needed.

The WORD OF GOD is not about exclusion. It is about INCLUSION. "We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God".  It is not about condemnation, it is about redemption. It is as simple as it gets.

Find yourselves a Bible preaching church. A church that is "...not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ". A church that is an advocate of the WORD OF GOD and His commandments. A church that professes what is written in the WORD OF GOD and not just part of it, but ALL OF IT. I pray you stand firm. That your beliefs are not to be challenged by mainstream or compromised by relationships. In the WORD OF GOD you will find the answers for all of your questions: politics, relationships, morality, work ethic... you name it.

Olivia turn 8 this month and looking back, we find that so many things have changed in this world in eight years. Not sure what the next eight years will bring, but we are at a loss from where we were eight years ago. We are on a downward slope which I believe is directly related to the lack of Prayer and the lack of teaching the Bible. 

Don't put your Bible in a 3 ring binder.


With Love,

Rosa



 

It is VITAL that you know...

... what Operation Christmas Child is all about!!! As you may have read in my last post (I am averaging about 1 post per month - not so hot for a wannabe social media expert), I went to Connect 2012, the Operation Christmas Child Volunteer Meeting. It was sooo much more exciting, uplifting, EDIFYING than I can ever tell you about. The authenticity of the ministry and the hearts of the Volunteers and Staff... Incredible!!! I was so impressed by the organization. Having worked in large companies with large Marketing departments and with wonderful professionals, I tend to be quite critical. Don't get me wrong. I try not to be judgmental, but I am critical - as in constructive criticism... ;). I was pleasantly surprised, although I really don't know why I would be surprised at all, these people are "marketing" for God, how could they be anything but the BEST?!? I was blessed to have been able to leave my 3 kids at home, about 1 week after loosing my job in order to attend, but God knew that what I was going to experience in Atlanta was going to produce tweets, this post and more shoeboxes!

At Connect 2012 in Atlanta,GA. (Stone Mountain)
Meet some of members of the Florida/PR Team.

I don't want to extend myself, so I will just give you my elevator speech - adapted from several other OCC Volunteer and Staff presentations - it goes something like this and sometimes I do it in Spanish:

"Do you know about OCC? We are a ministry of Samaritans Purse, an international relief organization, headed by Franklin Graham." (at this point, some poeple are still clueless, so when I see that empty look in their eyes, I mention that Franklin is Billy Graham's son - in some cases they make the connection, but mind you - not ALL cases!).

"What we do is fill shoe boxes with items like toothbrushes and other personal hygiene products, as well as, toys and send them to poor children all over the world. Last year we packed and shipped 8.5 MILLION boxes to over 100 countries!" (8.5 million usually produces wide eyes and open mouths)

"Every box delivered is a representation of God's love and it presents an opportunity to share the Gospel. In some countries, we are blessed to have local teachers trained by SP/OCC who through the local church facilitate a 12 week discipleship program called The Greatest Journey (TGJ). Every child that registers for TGJ is introduced to Jesus and is taught how to  follow Him and how to share their faith. On week #4, the receive Christ and on week 12, they are asked to write the names of 9 people - family, friends, etc. with whom they will share the Gospel." (this part usually produces tears in the eyes of those who are believers).

It is important to me that you (all of my readers: Gail and now Jane - lol) know what OCC is doing all over the world. It is important that we as volunteers and any of you who pack so much as ONE shoebox, can communicate the scope of this ministry and our mission in the most clear way.

After the elevator speech, we get a series of follow-up questions like:

1. Where do the boxes go?
2. How does it work?
3. How can my church or organization get involved?
4. How can I volunteer?

I have answers to all of these questions, just email me (rglobaina@yahoo.com).

Edwin, the kids and I at Expolit, Miami, FL. making contacts
in the hispanic community for OCC.

One other very important thing to say is that we don't only have shoe box generation goals which equal gospel opportunities, but we also have internal goals, as an organization. As Christians we are called to "Love one another" - this is The Great Commandment . As a team, we support each other in prayer, we make friends, help people in our community. OCC is a great opportunity for families to come together and do something with true meaning and a lasting impression. It allows us the opportunity to share God's love with our children and teach them about being involved in the Lord's work.






Here are a few videos (my favs) from OCC:

http://youtu.be/9NmawQ9gMvE

http://youtu.be/e7WB4HWmn-k

http://youtu.be/SnedBI-PRZw

I hope to see you at one of our events this Fall.

With Love,

Rosie